Research and Impact

Shared Reading changes lives by improving well-being, reducing social isolation and building stronger communities. The Reader conducts regular evaluation and works closely with our research partner CRILS to explore the health, social and economic benefits of Shared Reading.

CRILS, The Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society are based at the University of Liverpool. They seek to set the world agenda in:

Reading, health and well-being

New digital technologies and the future of meaning

The role of literature in modelling creative thinking about human existence

In partnership with The Reader, CRILS have carried out extensive research into the impact of Shared Reading for those living with mental health issues, dementia or chronic pain. See below for a full list of published reports and research:

This study, carried out by the Centre for Research into Reading, Information and Linguistic Systems (CRILS) at the University of Liverpool, investigated the effect of Shared Reading on women in HMP Low Newton. Four significant areas of improved well-being were found: Social Well-being The group encouraged greater integration of women on the Personality Disorder wing, providing a …

This one-year research study concluded that Shared Reading groups helped patients suffering from depression in terms of their social, mental, emotional and psychological well-being. The clinical data indicated that statistically significant improvements in the mental health of depressed patients had occurred during the 12-month period in which they had attended reading groups. It found that there …

Funded by the Headley Trust, the conclusions of this six-month study found that the literature-based intervention provided by Shared Reading produces a significant reduction in dementia symptoms and benefits the quality of life of both the residents and staff carers. The quantitative and qualitative research also found that short and long-term memory was positively influenced, …

Conducted in partnership with researchers from CRILS, Health Sciences at University of Liverpool, The Royal Broadgreen NHS Hospital Trust and The Reader. Investigating whether Shared Reading as a literature-based intervention was beneficial for people with chronic pain when delivered in a clinical setting. The study demonstrates the positive impact of Shared Reading on pain and psychological well-being. People living …

Identifying the intrinsic value components of The Reader’s Shared Reading model as a specific participatory and voluntary experience, in creation of both individual meaningfulness and a strongly interactive small community. Also examined the relationship of this intrinsic value to collateral and secondary (theraputic, health, economic, social) benefits. The report found that the cultural value of Shared Reading …

Investigating the impact that engaging in Shared Reading group activity had on participants with mild to moderate dementia in four care homes across Wirral. The study paid particular consideration to: the use of powerfully emotional literature to trigger awakenings in people living with dementia; the value of literature in offering emotional experiences too often feared to be …

Investigating the impact of Shared Reading on mental health and well-being in the four boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. One Shared Reading group member says that literature is not just “talking about” feelings, but actually “doing feelings” – getting into them and re-experiencing them in another form. Shared Reading is about re-experiencing life from off the page, and as …

Other Research

Building on the University of Liverpool’s groundbreaking MA Reading in Practice, the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award partners us with CRILS and Mersey Care NHS Trust, this pioneering project explores the existing theoretical foundations for the practice of bibliotherapy, or ‘reading as cure’, in English literature. Read more

The Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University has analysed the social return on investment (SROI) for the Get Into Reading initiative in Wirral, Merseyside. When considering the impact of Shared Reading on the health and well-being of participants, the study found that for every £1 invested in Get Into Reading, an average …

Thank you for expressing an interest in volunteering with The Reader. Your details have been sent to our team; we’ll be in touch as soon as possible using your preferred mode of contact. In the meantime, here’s some things you can do to start your Shared Reading story.

1 – Visit a group

If you aren’t an existing group member or haven’t dropped into a session yet; before training, we ask volunteers to attend an open community Shared Reading group. Groups are always free to attend and there is no need to book. Find your closest group here.

You can also get an idea of how a group works with this group snapshot video:

2 – Complete our application form

If you’ve already visited a Shared Reading group and are interested in training to become a volunteer Reader Leader, we’ll ask you to complete our application form. One of the team will email this to you, but you can also download it here if you want to make a start.